"The Bet" is a short story that explores a moral theme regarding the value of human life as seen through two perspectives. However, the story is constructed with an important, ironic twist that brings the reader back to the original context of the bet (if the lawyer could endure solitary confinement for fifteen years), and presents an unexpected result. One can ultimately see that Anton Chekhov presents the readers with two different paths in the story. One path is that of an old banker who refuses to face his own morality and the other is the lawyer (prisoner) who is a younger man in his mid-twenties facing his own morality, but falls into despair because he is so disconnected from the outside world even after gaining extensive amounts of knowledge during his fifteen years in solitary confinement. These two characters may thrive on change, but they both alter their own human values in several significant ways.

The banker, a spoiled and pampered man, is very nervous and becomes carried away by excitement at the time he makes a bet with the lawyer. This is shown when he says, "Fifteen! Done...Gentlemen, I stake two millions"(412). Chekhov shows the reader that this is an impulsive act one would expect of someone youthful since he describes it as excitability, which he could not get over even in the advancing years. Later in the story, Chekhov paints the portrait of a cowardly man who lacks the courage to endure the reality of his situation. One day before the lawyer is to be granted his freedom, the banker becomes irritated and highly anxious, "The only escape from bankruptcy and disgrace--is that the man should die"(414). At this point, the reader can trace the banker's path from boastfully making a foolish bet to being the one to give up all that he had staked, and conclude that his personal values have reached an all-time low.

On the other hand, the lawyer, an older and wiser man in the end, shows his dynamic...

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...“The Bet” is quite an interesting story since it can be appreciated as a simple reading-piece or as a complex, contentious, argumentative text that deals with the very controversial topic of capital punishment. From the very beginning, it grabs the reader’s attention by introducing the death penalty issue as the chief subject of a pretty heated discussion between two characters that, by merely expressing their point of view, will become the two main characters of the story. One of them is an old banker who has made a great fortune by participating in some highly profitable investments. The other one is a young, promising lawyer who shares his life with, apparently, no one. The banker, old-fashioned as he is, believes capital punishment is far more effective than imprisonment for life; however, this being said, the young lawyer stands up and does not hesitate when it comes for him to speak out his point of view: that life imprisonment is what should be applied by law because “…The death sentence and the life sentence are equally immoral, but… To live anyhow is better than not to all.” Consequently, a lively discussion arose and the banker got carried away by excitement and, therefore, betted two million pounds that the lawyer wasn’t going to be strong enough to stay in solitary confinement for five years. In the heat of the moment, or maybe because of his self-determination; not only did the lawyer take the bet, but actually made it worth for...

...story “The Bet” a lawyer and a banker make a bet about which penalty is more humane. The lawyer says that life imprisonment is more humane. In saying this, the lawyer bets he can stayed locked up in a cell for 15 years without any human contact and it will show it’s more humane. In the short story “The Bet” by Anton Chekhov; the lawyer encounters many types of conflicts including man vs. man, man vs. self, and man vs. nature.
The lawyer encounters man vs. man conflict in the short story when he makes the bet with the banker trying to state his opinion. The banker carrying on the conversation trying to prove he is correct and not letting anyone challenge him. The banker states “It’s not true I bet you two million you wouldn’t stay in solitary confinement for five years” (Chekhov 1). The lawyer replying says “If you mean that earnest... I’ll take your bet but not for five but fifteen years” (Chekhov 1). The lawyer not thinking takes the bet giving away his freedom for fifteen years. Many people would take the bet thinking only about the money and no their life or freedom. The lawyer at the time is a very greedy man only thinking about money. The banker trying to convince the lawyer he is wrong says “think better of it young man while there is still time. To me two million is a trifle but you are losing three or four of the best years of your life......

...“Placing a $2 Bet” Poetry Analysis
“Placing a $2 Bet for a Man Who Will Never Go to the Horse Races Any More” by Diane Wakoski is an expression of animosity she feels toward her father after meeting him for the first time in 14 years. It is an exploration of her philosophy of life and how her unhappy childhood has impacted her. Wakoski writes about her painful relationship with her father and explores the distant and miniscule relationship between father and daughter. “Placing a $2 Bet” is a poem of Wakoski’s philosophy towards life and the men, specifically her father, who inhabit it.
Wakoski starts the poem not with the first lines, but with the title “Placing a $2 Bet for a Man Who Will Never Go to the Horse Races Any More”. The fact that she is placing a two dollar bet could mean that she is poor, but most probably means that her admiration for her father is extremely low since the minimum amount one can bet is two dollars. Wakoski then starts the body of her poem with the following line: “for my father”. The fact that this line is not capitalized could mean that she does not think her father is deserving of a proper introduction. However, the fact that she does start out with this line could also mean that she does care about her father and wishes they could have shared a relationship. This brings about the first complexity in her confused state of opinion....

...When trying to work out the theme of a story, we need to remember that the theme is the overall meaning of a work of literature that usually expresses a view or comment on life. Writers rarely state their theme directly; the reader must consider the complex interplay of all of the elements of the story in order to piece together the possible meanings of the work as a whole. Discerning themes always requires a tolerance for ambiguity - especially in an open-ended story like "TheBet" that raises more questions than it answers.
Considering this, there appear to be a number of possible themes that we could apply to this intriguing short story. One central idea seems to be concerning the value of earthly possessions and knowledge. Remember how the lawyer chooses to renounce the money he would gain by winning the bet, because he realises that all earthly treasures are ephemeral and will pass away:
"To prove to you in action how I despise all that you live by, I renounce the two million of which I once dreamed as of paradise and which now I despise."
The lawyer describes human learning and culture as being "worthless, fleeting, illusory, and deceptive, like a mirage." In his opinion, these things blind us to the ultimate reality of death that will "wipe [us] of the face of the earth as though [we were] no more than mice burrowing under the floor..." Surely this must lie at the heart of the message of this short story - the lawyer, through...

...Analysis on The Bet by Anton Chekhov
This short story portrays a situation in which the banker and lawyer wages a bet based on the idea of the death penalty and life imprisonment. The banker puts on the line two million dollars compared to the lawyer's life worth of fifteen years. For the next fifteen years the lawyer was placed in the banker's backyard without the knowledge of the outside world. It was clear that any attempt on the lawyer's part to break the conditions will result in the lawyer's loss of the bet. Fifteen years later, the banker is near bankruptcy from gambling on the stock market. If he pays the lawyer for winning the bet, he will be ruined. His only escape from his tragedy would be to kill the lawyer. When the banker opens the door into the cell, he discovers the lawyer now looking like a skeleton. He discovers a letter and reads it, but soon realizes the lawyer plans to lose. Five hours before the lawyer's time is complete, he runs away and terminates his eligibility to win the bet. From these events in the story, I have concluded that it was the banker who won the bet and the argument of whether life imprisonment is better than death.
The bet has been argued to be many different aspects. It was stated in the story, “I'll bet you two millions you wouldn't stay in solitary confinement for five years” (1). Taking this idea as...

..."The Bet" is a short story that explores a moral theme regarding the value of human life. However, the story is constructed with an important ironic twist that brings the reader back to the original context of the bet (if the lawyer could endure solitary confinement for fifteen years), and presents an unexpected result. One can ultimately see that Anton Chekhov presents the readers with two different paths in the story. One of them is the banker, who refuses to face his own morality and the other is the lawyer (prisoner) who actually faces his own morality, but falls into despair because he is so disconnected from the outside world, even after gaining so much knowledge. These two characters may thrive on change, but they both alter their own human values in great ways.
The banker, a spoiled and pampered man, is very nervous and gets himself carried away by excitement at the time he makes a bet with the lawyer. This is shown when he says, "Fifteen! Done...Gentlemen, I stake two millions." Chekhov shows the reader that this not the impulsiveness of youth since he describes it as excitability, which he could not get over even in advancing years. Later in the story, Chekhov paints the portrait of a cowardly man who lacks the courage to endure reality. One day before the lawyer is to be granted his freedom, the banker becomes irritated and anxious, "The only escape from bankruptcy and disgrace--is that the man should die."...

..."The Bet" is an 1889 short story by Anton Chekhov about a banker and a young lawyer who make a bet with each other about whether the death penalty is better or worse than life in prison. The story has a twist ending.
As the story opens, the banker is recalling the occasion of the bet fifteen years before. Guests at a party that he was hosting that day fell into a discussion of capital punishment; the banker argued that capital punishment is more humane than life imprisonment, while the young lawyer disagreed, insisting that he would choose life in prison rather than death. They agree to a bet of two million rubles that the lawyer cannot spend fifteen years in solitary confinement. The bet was on, and the lawyer cast himself into isolation for fifteen years.
The man spends his time in confinement reading books, writing, playing piano, studying, drinking wine, and educating himself. In the meantime, the banker's fortune declines and he realizes that if he loses, paying off the bet will leave him bankrupt. The day before the fifteen-year period concludes, the banker resolves to kill the lawyer so as to not owe him the money. However, the banker finds a note written by the lawyer. The note declares that in his time in confinement he has learned to despise material goods for the fleeting things they are and realizes that knowledge is more powerful than money because it is something that...

...Cindy Zhunio
Ms. Tobin
Honors English II
April 22, 2013
“The Bet”
“The Bet” a story written by Anton Chekhov, is a tale of a two contrasting characters that make a bet that takes an unexpected twist at the end. The lawyer and the banker both make a bet that consists of the lawyer to spend 15 years in imprisoned in the bankers house, if he survives he gets 2 million dollars , if not he loses his freedom for those years with no money what so ever. This bet was made at a party hosted by the banker when these to opponent conversed about a polemical topic-the capital punishment. By using juxtaposition, the act of positioning two contrasting items close together, the author characterized the differences between the two men and their respective paths throughout the story, and the effect it has on Chekhov’s message.
In “The Bet”, The Lawyer and the Banker are developed differently though out the story. Although we saw mostly the banker’s personality¸ we learned the lawyer’s personality as it changes throughout the story. The banker changes very little throughout the entire plot. The Banker started off as a very arrogant wealthy man that was a bigot when it came to his beliefs. But later on as the story moves along he loses his confidence as man things change for him but he still remains prideful throughout. While the Banker slowly changes, the Lawyer progressively changes and becomes...